Teaneck Scout Awarded Organization's Highest Rank

Avi Samuel, left, achieved the highest rank in scouting on Sunday.Photo Credit: Contributed by David SamuelAvi Samuel speaking at his Eagle Scout Court of Honor.Photo Credit: Contributed by David SamuelAvi Samuel at his Eagle Scout Court of Honor.Photo Credit: Contributed by David Samuel

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TEANECK, N.J. – Avi Samuel became only the 15th Teaneck Troop 226 scout to become an Eagle Scout in the troop's 46-year history.

Samuel had his Court of Honor Sunday after six years climbing through the Boy Scout ranks.

Getting there meant completing 21 merit badges, serving in a leadership capacity and fulfilling a community service project — installing floorboards on a muddy section of the Tenafly Nature Center's trail.

“It’s like you join a company and you have to work your way up the corporate ladder,” said Samuel’s father, David Samuel.

The Torah Academy of Bergen County senior said his biggest takeaways from years of hiking, camping and learning with his troop were leadership, responsibility and, of course, the ability to pitch a tent.

The scout plans to attend CUNY Queens College next year, and hopes that one day, when he has kids, they too will join the Boy Scouts.

Seeing a teen with as much as drive as Samuel is rare, Scoutmaster Dan Chazin told Daily Voice.

“Scouting meant something to him,” Chazin said. “He really cared about it and it gave him the opportunity to do something special.”